Former Daily Camera publisher's 'first love was the newsroom'

John Dotson Jr. dead at 76

John Dotson Jr. was the Daily Camera's publisher from 1987 to 1992. (Dotson family )

John Dotson Jr. already had a record of excellence in journalism when he was named publisher of the Daily Camera in 1987, having spent 17 years working for Newsweek before coming to Boulder.

Dotson's naming as publisher alone was historic. He was the first black publisher in the Knight Ridder newspaper chain that owned the Camera at the time, according to his former employees.

His tenure--which lasted until 1992 when he became publisher of the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal--had a noticeable positive impact.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors named the Camera one of the top 10 newspapers with a circulation under 50,000 on Dotson's watch, according to then executive editor, Barrie Hartman.

"I really admired him. He really protected our paper from the cuts that corporate was demanding," Hartman recalled. "He also set very high standards for performance. His first love was the newsroom."

Dotson died Friday after a months-long fight with cancer, according to his family. He was 76.

Among many career accolades and accomplishments, Dotson was elected to the Washington Post Company's Board of Directors in 2001. In 1977 he co-founded the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, which led the movement to bring diversity to U.S. newsrooms, according to his family.

While the crowning achievement of his career may have come in Akron--the Beacon Journal won a Pulitzer Gold Medal for Meritorious Public Service for a series on race in 1994 when he was publisher there--Dotson kept a home in Boulder and spent much of his time here following his retirement in 2001, according to family.

"Boulder was a special place. It's where he was first publisher, we had a home here, we liked the people," wife Peggy Dotson said. "I mean, what's not to like about Boulder?"

Peggy Dotson said her husband was an avid fly fisherman who cast his line in waters across Colorado.

The couple, who had three children, celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in April.

For those who worked with him at the Camera, Dotson is remembered as an inspiration.

"John was a very wise man. It was just an education, I think, for all of us," said Glennys McPhilimy, the Camera's assistant editorial page editor at the time Dotson took the publisher position. "He was just very smart and very thoughtful and soft-spoken. I just had a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he did for all of us at the Camera."

"I loved the guy, and he certainly played a major role in my career," Hartman said.

Dotson's family said they are planning a private memorial service for him in the near future.